I had a lady come in the store and say to me this week:

"I want a very high quality sofa and tilt back chair, and I want them cheaply. What do you have?"

I pondered this for a second and said "I have quality pieces, but none of it is cheap. What do you mean by that term, as its really not specifically a dollar amount?"

" $ 1,500 for a leather sofa, half again as much for the chair."

To which I replied: "At those price points, you'll need to shop Chinese-made items like Flexsteel Lattitudes, or Ashley."

"But I don't want those, they don't last. I want these to hold up for at least 20 years."

"Then you have to double your budget at least, or shop pre-owned pieces."

"So you're telling me that I get what I pay for."

"Yes, pretty much!"

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A couple last week and I were discussing H&M on the floor and I'm showing them features and the like and going on about leather types and the husband breaks in and says "You really love what you do, don't you? You have a passion for this I have never seen at any other furniture stores."

I didn't know how to answer that! And I've been thinking about that comment all week. Do I have a love of furniture? Not really...I don't collect it or change it out very often in my own home like true affectionados do. But what I do love is the art of the build, the handcrafted nature of things. I dislike cheap. I dislike shortcuts for the sake of a price point.

I DO appreciate craftsmanship to a very large degree. And it made me realize as I thought about this comment that my entire 26 years of selling furniture has been geared towards selling that "art of the piece" - hopefully at reasonably affordable prices for most. And its why I have a huge curiosity of why things are made the way they are. It's why I own a BMW motorcycle, or have a Snap-On toolbox in my garage full of their tools. They are the best at what they do and (mostly) affordable. I have a low tolerance for things done cheaply, or done poorly, and won't represent them in my store. After all, if I wouldn't own them...why would I expect anyone else to? So I try to find this stuff out and pass it on to everyone here.

Quality.
Art.
Pride in what you make and sell.

That's what I'm really all about!